I love the images and love more the fact that you're not afraid to talk about gear :). I used to love my X-T30II but moved on from Fujifilm except for my X-E2 which is just magical! Anyway, great little camera and nice to see this series.
Thanks Juliette! Oh yeah I’m not shy to talk gear at all, I mean we all use it haha, it doesn’t have to be so taboo haha. I really love my X-T30II, we’ve seen some stuff together and I’ll shoot it until it can’t shoot anymore.
Really thinking about getting the XT30 II for the sole reason of it being the only Fuji I can get my hands on. I was wanting the XM5 but I feel it might be a little too small for me even though that’s what initially drew me in. Decisions, decisions.
I can’t recommend it enough. Solid performance, Raw size is manageable for storage (I maintain that 26 mega pixels is enough). So compact for an SLR style. Honestly you cannot go wrong and like you said, it’s still obtainable and if you get it now you’ll only be able to sell it for more later if you need. I feel like it’s slept on and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes another sought after older Fuji.
Regarding camera gear, my biggest "upgrade" was getting a Panasonic GH-1. Micro 4/3 mirrorless but an interchangeable lens system (coming from a digital compact zoom camera). Since then it feels like only incremental upgrades really :)
Nice!! Yeah I agree with the incremental part, most cameras these days are more than enough so even in upgrade in megapixels doesn’t feel like much unless you’re printing your work often. I personally don’t think anyone needs more than 26mp, I don’t know how anyone backs up 40mp raws without spending a fortune on hard drives haha.
I'm one of those people who needs to upgrade their NAS disk space to accommodate for these 40Mp raw files.
Luckily I don't take a gazillion photos each year, so I can still do fine with with a reasonable 6-7TB 🤦♂️😂 (but that's for everything including non-photography-related files). Thing is, you also need a secondary backup (the backup of the backup), so it's getting ridiculous at some point yes.
Great shapes and hometown vibes here. Lots of good compositions. I used to struggle sometimes shooting these types of neighborhoods thinking they're plain or a bit devoid of subjects, but you've done a great job to make the scenes almost feel a little crowded. There is lots of visual interest.
Thanks, dude. Means a lot coming from you. I mean, I still struggle with these neighbourhoods, the day I shot these was probably a struggle haha. I’ve just been here so many times before and the streets are typically empty. Pulling out the appeal can be difficult so I’m stoked about what you wrote.
Such great images here. Your framing is always something I quite enjoy as I scroll through your images.
And for a camera that leveled up my game, that would be my Voigtlander Bessa L. It was the second camera I purchased and it moved me from a fixed lens camera and metering by hand to something that had a ton of lens options (LTM lenses) and it has a TTL meter. I absolutely love the Canon lenses I have for it and I saw my images take leaps forwards when I started using it. It’s also very fun to shoot with, both the shutter sound and film advance lever are very satisfying.
That’s awesome! Since joining Substack I’ve seen the Bessa mentioned a lot and it was not a camera I was familiar with at all, even owning a Vito C myself. I love that though, and can fully relate to the step up in leaps and bounds. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be on the lookout for that camera now myself.
The catch with the L is it doesn’t have a viewfinder or rangefinder. Which means it can be a less expensive option compared to other alternatives, but also tricky because you have to rely on zone focus. And you also need to find an external viewfinder that you like (or compose from the hip with a wide lens).
I love the look of these photos! - I’m curious, do you shoot in full manual? I’m so used to vintage film cameras that I just don’t know how to approach shooting with a digital camera. I’ve tried to shoot with a Canon 6D and even borrowed a Fujifilm X100VI for a day but just couldn’t find that zen feeling I get when shooting film. It just felt counter intuitive to me, and yet, I’m still interested in trying to work with a digital. Right now the only digital photography I do is with my phone.
Thanks, Alicia!! I shoot in aperture priority, I don’t like shooting full manual because I really hate focus peaking and would match rather have normal film style focus with my digital if I could. I understand though, I absolutely love my fully manual Pentax and shoot with it often but as a balance between the two systems, I slow down and shoot my digital exactly as if I was shooting film. It doesn’t hurt that the retro style Fuji I have is very similar to my slr and I don’t find I have that disconnect.
Thanks for sharing your shooting process. I think I just have to devote some time to intentionally shoot with digital. I only have my son’s old Canon 6D so I’ll start with that one. I do like the Fuji film sims though.
Thanks, Scott! Somehow 5 and 11 have remained acceptable to me over the past few years, haha. Yeah, it’s definitely not as pocketable as the V but withe 27mm pancake it’s pretty close and about as minimal as you can get with an SLR style. Let’s be clear though, if someone put a V or VI in front of me, at msrp, I’d have less money in my bank account than I do now.
I love the images and love more the fact that you're not afraid to talk about gear :). I used to love my X-T30II but moved on from Fujifilm except for my X-E2 which is just magical! Anyway, great little camera and nice to see this series.
Thanks Juliette! Oh yeah I’m not shy to talk gear at all, I mean we all use it haha, it doesn’t have to be so taboo haha. I really love my X-T30II, we’ve seen some stuff together and I’ll shoot it until it can’t shoot anymore.
Really thinking about getting the XT30 II for the sole reason of it being the only Fuji I can get my hands on. I was wanting the XM5 but I feel it might be a little too small for me even though that’s what initially drew me in. Decisions, decisions.
I can’t recommend it enough. Solid performance, Raw size is manageable for storage (I maintain that 26 mega pixels is enough). So compact for an SLR style. Honestly you cannot go wrong and like you said, it’s still obtainable and if you get it now you’ll only be able to sell it for more later if you need. I feel like it’s slept on and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes another sought after older Fuji.
Regarding camera gear, my biggest "upgrade" was getting a Panasonic GH-1. Micro 4/3 mirrorless but an interchangeable lens system (coming from a digital compact zoom camera). Since then it feels like only incremental upgrades really :)
Nice!! Yeah I agree with the incremental part, most cameras these days are more than enough so even in upgrade in megapixels doesn’t feel like much unless you’re printing your work often. I personally don’t think anyone needs more than 26mp, I don’t know how anyone backs up 40mp raws without spending a fortune on hard drives haha.
I'm one of those people who needs to upgrade their NAS disk space to accommodate for these 40Mp raw files.
Luckily I don't take a gazillion photos each year, so I can still do fine with with a reasonable 6-7TB 🤦♂️😂 (but that's for everything including non-photography-related files). Thing is, you also need a secondary backup (the backup of the backup), so it's getting ridiculous at some point yes.
Imagine having to backup 100Mp GFX files 😂
Great shapes and hometown vibes here. Lots of good compositions. I used to struggle sometimes shooting these types of neighborhoods thinking they're plain or a bit devoid of subjects, but you've done a great job to make the scenes almost feel a little crowded. There is lots of visual interest.
Thanks, dude. Means a lot coming from you. I mean, I still struggle with these neighbourhoods, the day I shot these was probably a struggle haha. I’ve just been here so many times before and the streets are typically empty. Pulling out the appeal can be difficult so I’m stoked about what you wrote.
Love the color, love the framing, love the scene! Nicely done, bud!
Thanks friend!!!
Such great images here. Your framing is always something I quite enjoy as I scroll through your images.
And for a camera that leveled up my game, that would be my Voigtlander Bessa L. It was the second camera I purchased and it moved me from a fixed lens camera and metering by hand to something that had a ton of lens options (LTM lenses) and it has a TTL meter. I absolutely love the Canon lenses I have for it and I saw my images take leaps forwards when I started using it. It’s also very fun to shoot with, both the shutter sound and film advance lever are very satisfying.
Aw thanks, Adam!
That’s awesome! Since joining Substack I’ve seen the Bessa mentioned a lot and it was not a camera I was familiar with at all, even owning a Vito C myself. I love that though, and can fully relate to the step up in leaps and bounds. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be on the lookout for that camera now myself.
The catch with the L is it doesn’t have a viewfinder or rangefinder. Which means it can be a less expensive option compared to other alternatives, but also tricky because you have to rely on zone focus. And you also need to find an external viewfinder that you like (or compose from the hip with a wide lens).
I love the look of these photos! - I’m curious, do you shoot in full manual? I’m so used to vintage film cameras that I just don’t know how to approach shooting with a digital camera. I’ve tried to shoot with a Canon 6D and even borrowed a Fujifilm X100VI for a day but just couldn’t find that zen feeling I get when shooting film. It just felt counter intuitive to me, and yet, I’m still interested in trying to work with a digital. Right now the only digital photography I do is with my phone.
Thanks, Alicia!! I shoot in aperture priority, I don’t like shooting full manual because I really hate focus peaking and would match rather have normal film style focus with my digital if I could. I understand though, I absolutely love my fully manual Pentax and shoot with it often but as a balance between the two systems, I slow down and shoot my digital exactly as if I was shooting film. It doesn’t hurt that the retro style Fuji I have is very similar to my slr and I don’t find I have that disconnect.
Thanks for sharing your shooting process. I think I just have to devote some time to intentionally shoot with digital. I only have my son’s old Canon 6D so I’ll start with that one. I do like the Fuji film sims though.
I really dig frames 5, 10, & 11. Sometimes I really wish my x100v had interchangeable lenses. Sounds like you picked a winner.
Thanks, Scott! Somehow 5 and 11 have remained acceptable to me over the past few years, haha. Yeah, it’s definitely not as pocketable as the V but withe 27mm pancake it’s pretty close and about as minimal as you can get with an SLR style. Let’s be clear though, if someone put a V or VI in front of me, at msrp, I’d have less money in my bank account than I do now.
I love it when people praise a less popular but almost identical alternative to the hottest cameras — great post and images 😎
Thanks, Jess! Yeah so often these cameras are overlooked but right under our noses as consumers, often right beside the new, hot cameras in store.